Fruit-peel drier



W. l. WINCHESTER.

FRUIT PEEL DRIER.

APPLICATION HLED APR.21. 1919.

Patented June 29, 1920.

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APPLICATION FILED APR.21. 1919.

7 Pand June 29, 1920;

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UNITED slTATEs PATNT OFFICE.

WILLIAM I. WINCI-IES'I'ER, OF LOS ANGELES, CAIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 LAUG'HLIN E'RUIT REFINERS, INC., OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION `OZE' CALI- FRUI'r-PEEL Damn.

Application filed April 21,

up in a companion application, dry the peels,

and deposit the peels in a bag for handling and shipping.

Obviously the drier may be used for other purposes than for lemon peels and it may be used separately from the Separator.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a drier em- Vbodying the principles of the invention, parts being broken away and shownvin section.

Fig. 2 is a Vertical longitudinal section on theline 2-2 of Fig.. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevatlon looking in the direction indicated by the arrow 3 in Fig. 1.

F ig. 4 is a Vertical cross-sectional detail on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary Vertical longitudinal sectional. detail on the line 5-5 of Fi 1.

`ig. 6'is a fragmentary detail .plan of one of the foraminous belts.

Fig. 7 is a Vertical cross-sectional detail on the lines 7-7 of Figs. 2 and 8.

F ig. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional detail on the lines 8 8 of Fig.

Fig. 9 is a Vertical cross-section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a view analogous to Flg. 5 `and showing a modified construction and taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9. i

The main frame of the drier consists of a plurality of posts 1 mounted vertically, a

bottom 2 mounted horizontally upon the posts 1, side walls 3 and 4 extending upwardlyvfrom the bottom 2, end Walls 5 and 6 connecting the ends of the side walls and extending upwardly from the bottom 2, and a top 7 mounted upon-the end walls and side' walls, thus forming a drying chamber 8.

A heater 9 is mounted in any suitable way to be heated from a steam coil, a gas burner,

Specification of Iletters Patent.

Patented June 29, 41920.

1919. serial No. 291,738. i

.or the like, and a blower 10 is .mounted in 'position to blow fresh air through the heater 9 and vthe fresh warm air from the heater lpasses through a conduit 11 to the ,lower part of the chamber Sand thehot air circu-.

lates through the chamber and through the foraminous belts and around the materialto .be dried and thenipasses out of the chamber throughthe opening 8'. Alremovable hood 8a is mounted in position Vto cover the hopper and close the opening 8b.

The foraminous belt 12 is mounted upon a roller 13, said roller 13 being mounted upon e a bracket 14 extending forwardly from the upper part of the wall 6, and the belt passes 1nto the chamber 8 in a substantially horizonta'l plane through an opening in the wall v 6to the roller 15 near the wall 5. A hopper 16 is mounted above the belt 12 near the roller 13 and'a chute 17 discharges into'the hopper 16. The chute 17 comes from the Separator or other source of supply lfor 'feeding the drier. A second foraminous belt 18 is mounted upon rollers 19 and 20 within the chamber 8 below the belt 12, and .a third foraminous belt 21 is mounted upon rollers 22 and 23, a fourth belt 24 is mounted upon rollers 25 and .26, and a fifth belt 27 is mounted upon rollers 28 and 29.

The` foraminous belts" 12, 18, 21, 24 and 27 are all substantially alike and consist of endless vcables 30 covered by cross slats 31V bles 30 may be Wire or cord ropeand there may be any desired number of the cables in abelt.

Cleats 33 are secured to the inner faces-of the walls 3 and 4 in position to support the ends of the slats on the upper side of the belt passing'from the roller 13 to 15, and similar cleats 34 support the ends of the slatson the lower sideof the belt assing from the roller 15 to the roller 13. n a like manner the cleats 35 and 36 support the belt 18, cleats 37 and 38 support the belt 21, cleats 39 and 40 support the belt 24, and a cleat 41 supports the upper' side of the belt 27, the

lower side of the belt being supported by the bottom 2. The cleats 33to 41 are located relative to their respective belts so that the belts may sag slightly and so that the cleats will only support the intermediate portions ofV the belts. In this manner the belts will gradually approach the cleats and avoid danger of striking the ends of the cleats.

The rollers 20 and 26 are mounted close to the inner face of the wall 5 while the rollers. 15 and 23 are some distance from the inner face of the wall 5, so that the material falling from the belt 12V as it passes downwardly around the roller 15 willfall nponthe belt 18, and the material passing from the belt 21 as it passes downwardly around the roller 23 will fall upon the belt v24. In a like manner the rollers 22 and 28 are close to the inner face of thewall 6 and the rollers 19 and 25 aremoved inwardly from the wall 6, so that 'the material falling from the belt 18 as itA passes downwardly around the roller 19 will fall upon the belt 21 and the material passing from the belt 24 as it passes downwardly around the roller 25 will fall upon the belt 27 The rollers 15, 20, 23 and 26 are provided with belt tighteners 42. The belt tighteners 42 are made by' mounting the 'spindles of therollers in bearings and mounting the bearings to be adjus'ted by set-screws. The roller 29 is also mounted in belt tightene'r bearings, and the "roller 29 is mountedoutside of the wall 5,

there being a hopper or spout 43 below the roller and a bag 44 below the spout to receive'the dried' material from the belt 27.

A sheet metal baflie plate 45 is mounted behind the roller 15. and forms an Vincline tagainst Vwhich the material is discharged fromjthebelt 12'and led downwardly to the belt ,18. One object of the baffie plate is to mix the material up and roll it over' and over las it passes from the belt'12 to the belt l18. A similar baifie'plate 46 is mounted in front of the roller19fto conduct the material from the 'belt 18 downwardly and backwardly to the belt 21. In a like manner a baffie plate '47 .con'ducts the material from the belt 21 downwardly and forwardly to the' belt 24, and the bafile plate 48 conducts the material. from the belt v24 downwardly and ba'ckwalrdly to'the belt 27 K A motor 49 is mounted upon the base. 50, a worm 51 is fixed upon the motor shaft 52, a large worm gear 53 is mounted to'mesh with the Iworm`51, a belt pulley 54 is fixed upon the shaft 55 upon which the worm gearv53 is fixed, and a largepbelt pulley 56 is Afi'xed upon the spindle ofthe roller 28 and connected to the pulley 54 by a belt 57 so as to drive the roller 28 at a comparatively vlow rate of speed lfrom the motor 49. The

belt pulley 58-is fiXed upon the opposite end of the spindle of the roller 28 fromthe 4pulley 53, a belt pulley 59v is fixedupon the 4spindle of the roller 19, and a crossed belt 60 connects the pulleys 58 and 59. The

`crossedbelt 61 connects a pulley 62 upon the spindle of the roller 19 to a pulley 63 upon the spindle of the roller 13. belt 'moving backwardly, that is to the 'left in' Fig. 2, to drive the rollers 19 and 25 in'the opposite direction so that the' upper parts of the belts 18 and 24 travel forwardly, that is to the right in Fig.v2, so as to make a zig-zag passage for 'the material coming to the belt 12 through the hopper` 16 and leaving the belt'27 through thehopper 43. The speed of transmission from the roller 28 is comparatively slow and practically equalv so that the belts will travel at a uniform rate i of speed and 'slow enough to dry'v the mateial while it is'passing through Vthe chamer 8. i In the modification shown in Figs. 9 and 10 a roller 71V'is mounted above the roller 15,v a' secondroller 72 is mounted below the roller 15, andV a third roller 73 is mounted directly behind the roller 15. A plurality ofv coil spring belts 74 run around the rollers 71, 72 and 73, said belts being driven by contact with lthe belt 12. A plurality of guide fingers 75 are mounted' with vtheir upper ends in contact with thelbelt 12,-there being one finger between each pair o'f belts 74, and the fingers' 5 exten'd on an ineline forwardly andv downwardly to thebelt 18'. Ears 76 are secured' to the fingers 75 and a rod` 77 is inserted through the ears 76 and supported in the walls 3V and 4; The belts` 74 and fingers 75 serve to mix up .andturn over the' material comingfrom' the belt 12 and passing to the'belt 18.

If desired, the parts 71-77 may be mounted in connection witheach of the rollers 15,19, 23 and 25. 5 i

Thus has 'been produced a drier which will take material, such as moist lemonv peelsi or thevlike, in a continuous stream, 'dry the material, anddischarge the dried 7material mto a sack or other receptacle for transportation.

Vari us'ch'anges may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed. i

I claim: 1. Ina 'fruitpeel drier, a drying. Chamber, a front roller and a rear roller mounted horiz'ontally and transversely of the chamber, a" foraminous belt mounted 'uponrth e rollers, its upper'sideV adapted'to run toward the rear roller, a second front. roller mounted' below'the rear roller' and' a second' rear i 4 roller mounted below the first front roller, '1:87 0

a second foraminous belt mounted upon the second pair of rollers With its upper side moving opposite to the upper side of the first belt, a plurality of yieldin belts mounted upon rollers to engage t e first foraminous belt as it passes around the first rear roller, a second set of yielding belts.

engaging the second foraminous belt as it passes around the second rear roller, and fingers extending between the yielding belts and leading downwardly and forwardly.

2. In a fruit peel drier, a drying Chamber,

rollers mounted in pairs horizontally trans-` whereby material carried upon the main belts may be guided lfrom any one belt to thebelt next below.

3. In a fruit peel drier, a drying Chamber, rollers mounted in pairs horizontally trans- Versely of the Chamber, foraminous belts mounted upon the rollers, each alternate belt adapted to run in an opposite direction, said belts comprising endless rope members bound by transverse slats, secondary yielding belts mounted to operate against the tail end rollers Carrying the main belts WherebyV material carried upon the main belts may be guided from one belt to the belt next below, means for heating and ventilating the drying Chamber, and means for feeding material upon the belts.

In testimony Whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

W. I. WINCHESTER. 

